BREAK command
To eliminate repetitive column values, use the BREAK command as shown in this example:
SQL>BREAK ON ownerSQL>SELECT owner, table_name2FROM all_tables3ORDER BY owner, table_name;OWNER TABLE_NAME ========== =============== CTXSYS DR$CLASS DR$DELETE DR$INDEX DEMO CUSTOMER DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE
When you list a column in the BREAK command, SQL*Plus prints the value of the column only when it changes. For this to work properly, remember to sort the query results on the same column.
You can also use the BREAK command to skip lines or skip to a new page whenever a value changes. For example:
BREAK ON owner SKIP 1 BREAK ON owner SKIP PAGE
The first command results in printing a blank line whenever the owner changes. The second results in a page break each time the owner changes.
Multiple breaks may be specified for a report, but with the same command. The following example causes a page break to occur whenever an owner changes and a blank line to be printed whenever the object type changes:
BREAK ON owner SKIP PAGE ON object_type SKIP 1 SELECT owner, object_type, object_name FROM dba_objects ORDER BY owner, object_type, object_name;
Before performing the break actions for a column, SQL*Plus will first perform the break actions for all inner columns. In this case, a change in the owner field would result in one skipped line and then a page break.